Step 4: Lighting

Step 5: Conclusion

After the set-up is complete, the only thing left to do is water the plants regularly, and wait for them to grow! Thanks for reading! I like comment...

I have for a long time wanted to try my hand at growing something. I think it's awesome to be able to grow food oneself, instead of buying it from large-scale farms, after it's been processed and shipped thousands of miles. For this reason, I decided this spring to attempt to grow some crops of my own. However, in Northeast Ohio, winter lasts too long, and spring comes around too late to plant seeds outside initially. This system allowed me to start my seeds about mid-February, and keep them inside until the weather wouldn't destroy them.

This Instructable will focus on what I used and built to start my seeds rather than in-depth gardening theory. This is because this project was my first attempt at growing plants, and I am far from an expert gardener. This project was done for fun and learning about gardening, while still trying to be able to harvest some produce, in a cost-effective manner.
-Steps:

Choosing What to Grow

Pots and Planting

The Frame

Lighting

Conclusion

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5/21/2012: Thanks for the feature!!
6/7/2012: A sincerest thank you to all who read and voted for this Instructable in the Gardening Challenge! Second Prize!

Step 1: Choosing What to Grow

Since this is my first attempt to grow any plants, I wanted to start simple. Therefore, I chose to try to grow sunflowers and tomatoes.

I assumed that sunflowers would be less maintenance than other vegetable plants because they're flowers. I'm not sure what my logic here was, but that's how I saw it : ). Also, sunflowers can have their seeds harvested and eaten, so not only do they look nice, but produce food. The seeds that are harvested can also be used to plant more sunflowers next year. As for tomatoes, I made another assumption that tomatoes seem to be a popular starting point for gardeners.

I went down to Home Depot and grabbed some seeds. I got four breeds of sunflowers, and one of tomatoes. If I could do this project over again, I would have gotten less variety, in an effort to keep things relatively small and simple for my first gardening experience. The sunflower breeds I bought were: American Giant, Mammoth, Autumn Beauty, and Teddy Bear. The tomato seeds I bought were Beefsteak Tomatoes.

Be creative in looking at everyday objects. I try to re-use whenever possible. Some of my favorite pots for my seedlings are Venti cups from Starb..., 1/2 gallon ice cream cartons, and extra large soda cups. I have 18" x 4' x 4' raised beds, all built with donated scrap lumber. With a keen eye and a little luck, the possibilities are endless. I hope you are still gardening...

Unfortunately the gardening didn't happen this year, even though I managed to harvest seeds from all of my sunflowers last year with the intent to plant them this year.. Being away at college interfered, as I wasn't able to start my seeds early like last year..

I don't really care for the seed starter pellet thingies. the seed starter soil to a certain degree, but, Best results Ive ever had starting seeds is using a 5-5-0 manure.compost blend. I good commercial brand is called "Black Cow" composted cow poop with other organic compost mixed in.. no, it's past the point of stinking so don't worry about that. lots of nutrients.

the miracle grow dirt you got there is potting soil and its best used for already established house plants. overall, it has a lot of nitrogen in it. and not much of anything else.

the lights, just because they are bright, dont mean they are right, as said earlier, a full spectrum bulb, just get a "grow light" type of bulb and the plants will be much happier. general purpose CFL's just don't cut it.

where will the seedlings be going once planted?

sunflowers and tomatoes both demand full sun, Tomatoes really really want a good composted soil to grow in. An old country trick is for when you are digging your planting hole is to drop a chunck of cow patty in the hole before planting.. I can attest that this works VERY well, but admidt that in our modern times, cow patty is hard to come by. once again, back to the Black cow gardening dirt.

Hi there! Next year around I'll definitely have to look some better soils to plant in then. Most of the sources I looked at suggested CFL's as an alternative to expensive High-Pressure Sodium bulbs, and that the CFL's would suffice, but there's undoubtedly better out there. The tomatoes have been going into hanging pop bottle planters, and the sunflowers into bigger pots. Haha.. No cow patty in Suburbia : )

CFL bulbs would be a big improvement since seedlings are so sensitive to high temperatures. Also don't put any sort of manure near seedlings the salts, heavy metals and ammonia are very detrimental to germination rate and root development.

to a point I guess, depends on the type of poop you are using I would reckon. compost made from deep bedded straw from a chicken coop would be fine, composted cow manure like I recommended up there would be fine as well.. I certainly wouldn't start a seed in the middle of a straight up cow patty. though I have composted my beds using Elephant poo from the Circus.

High pressure sodium bulbs are good if you have an extensive indoor hydroponic grow operation dealing with mature plants. live in California, and have a doctors prescription. otherwise CFL GROW lamps or regular incandescent grow lamps are just fine.. in fact, I would dare say the incandescent are a better choice BECAUSE of the heat the produce.

if you are doing the mini green house thing, the light bulb's heat is going ramp up the humidity in the enclosure and spur germination, I wouldn't move to a CFL until you are trying to harden the seedlings for transplant.

The biggest issue I have found with transplanting anything is if the pots they are growing in do not release the soil easily, so it takes a lot of pulling, stress on the stem and ripping of the roots to get the plant out.

Otherwise, try not to do it in the heat of the day, a cool evening when the temperature will be only moderate not hot for the next few days (and no strong wind or rain forecasted) would be best.

Here's a couple of tricks I use. 1. Line the inside of the pot with aluminum foil (with drain holes of course). It comes out cleanly and easily. All you have to do is pull the foil away from the soil and its ready to go. 2. Cut a circle of plastic screening to fit the bottom the pot. Using a washer and small screw, attach it to a wooden dowel a couple of inches higher than the pot. Then, just lift the whole thing out by the dowel. Both are very inexpensive. What do you think?

A member of our church congregation gave away extra plants from his greenhouse this year by leaving boxes of them by the entry. The plants were started from seed in ziplock sandwich size bags. The bags were filled with miracle grow and the seeds took off like magic. The bags allowed enough air in the sides so no drainage holes were needed. At transplant, I just tore the bag down the side and put the contents into a small hole in the garden. Gonna do that next year rather than the peat pellets I use.

The biggest issue I have found with transplanting anything is if the pots they are growing in do not release the soil easily, so it takes a lot of pulling, stress on the stem and ripping of the roots to get the plant out.

Otherwise, try not to do it in the heat of the day, a cool evening when the temperature will be only moderate not hot for the next few days (and no strong wind or rain forecasted) would be best.

That's entirely possible! I'm not a pro gardener, but so far I haven't had any problems moving my sunflowers to different pots. I've had way more problems dealing with weather and such, but not transplanting.

HI been doing this for a couple seasons , still learning. I had room for a 4x8 piece of plywood, put some 2x4s on it and put plastic in to keep it water tight, i use Metal Halide Light to start, when plants have 2 or 3 sets of leaves showing then switch to high pressure sodium light, and have a oscillating fan going, it really helps, all on a timer ! when they get 4 or 5 inches tall i put them in plastic cups with several holes in the sides for water, once a week i add 10 gallons of water, which i have in buckets at least for a day to vent the chlorine out , the fan keeps the mold issues at bay and strengthens the plant to and i add a organic fertilizer once a month or so ! This is a good starting point and when then get 6" or so i move them out to my front porch enclosed to adjust ! This works well so far for me, am in syracuse ny so weather is a issue here to ! This is a basic starting point for me have had good results so far ! I would like to start the hydroponic thing with this to a small pump to keep the water moving, but have some concerns about fertilizer/food and putting them out side in soil, can they convert to soil will find out on that ! Thank u for doing this it helps us all, we all need to update r skill level especially in these times, seems to be a lost art growing ur own food !! Good luck in ur planting and please pass along ur results and everyone else please its all good for us !!!

Very nice work! I will tell you what I do, which would help, I think, with your lighting. I bought a 4' shop light. Then I bought 2 full-spectrum light bulbs for it. I bought them at K-Mart, but they are quite reasonably priced. It is important to have the fulll-spectrum plant growing bulbs, to duplicate the sun as much as possible. We have a third bathroom which no one uses, so I hung the shop light from the towel bar, so the light was close to the emerging plants. Keep them in the dark and covered with a clear plastic, like saran wrap, until the plants emerge. Then put them under the light, with the bulbs close to the plants. This year, finally, I bought a non-digital plug-in timer, so I wouldn't have to turn the light on each morning and turn it off at night when I went to bed. I should have done that years ago! I started the plants in small styrofoam cups with potting soil. I set all these cups in a plastic tray. As the plants grow, I raise the light. Here in Montana, I start our tomatoes, peppers, etc in mid-March. Sometime in mid-April I have to transplant them to larger containers. I use the 4' plastic square containers that I have accumulated over the years from buying potted plants. When it gets to mid-late May, I bring the two trays (used to be 1 tray until I re-potted them) and set them on the back deck during the day time where they can still have some protection from the wind, but get the morning sun. Then I bring them in at night. I continue this for 2-3 days before I start leaving them out at night (watching the weather forecast). They will stay out for 2-3 nights before I finally will transplant them into the garden. Hope this helps you! I am impressed that someone as young as yourself has an interest in growing plants! Congratulations to you and your project!

hello, best yet is to plant the seed of any kind in those species that look like small circles of glass wool is biodegradable and not moving from seed to make, just break a few small roots and it's damn for his growing, I will follow you, I voted also, i like gardening flowers are beautiful Sunflower according to their variety, in France where I live is not the top either outdoors and summer comes late, I put out in early July. Bye guys, good luck for your Sunflower and your tomatoes, I'm waiting for mine too. luky

I'm pretty sure your lights are insufficient. The problem I always had with indoor started plants is insufficient light.

This year, I bought a dual 32w daylight neon tube fixture and even that was not enough! The plants grow with a lighter green shade and burn in the sun when transplanted outside. You have to gradually expose them to the sun before transplanting them to avoid it. As I'm working during the day, I couldn't do it and I lost everything again...

Next year, I'll build a cold frame and it should solve my problems! I hope you'll still have success with your plants!

It's very possible that my lights are insufficient. However, they are not the only light source. The rig is positioned near the biggest windows in my house to allow some sunlight to reach the plants. I haven't had any issues with the plants not tolerating the sun, but the wind is a different story. I had a lot of plants get broken at the stems from the strength of the wind, and I often had to bring some plants in at night once I started putting them outside to try to prevent this.

What I typically do when I first transplant, is save a clear plastic jug from juice, cut the bottom off of it, throw away the lid and then put it over the plant like a miniature green house. It seems to work pretty well for me.

Last year we had very strong wind so I share your concerns about wind damage.

However wind damage is related to light. The more light they get, the less leggy they get, growing shorter thicker stems that are a lot more wind resistant. While still inside you can point a fan to blow not directly on them but to the side which helps cause thicker stem growth too, but it also greatly increases the watering frequency so if you are away for a few hours you may not want the fan blowing during that period.

Don't leave them outside at night in the little containers you're using, they can harden outside for a few hours a day when wind isn't bad then leave them outside after they are transferred to their final pot or the ground. By then they should be at least (roughly, depends on plant type) 3" tall.

Put a stake next to the plant soon after transplanting so there are no roots to disturb where the stake is placed, even if it is not tall enough to need one yet. Once the plant is tall enough that wind might damage it, tie it to the stake. Place the stake on the side of the plant where the wind usually comes from, though you may need to observe this outside rather than relying on weather forecasts because local obstructions like buildings or fences can change wind direction.

the lights may or may not be insufficient, but a big part of greenhouse growing, or in this case indoor growing, is the median step of transporting to a shadehouse before transplanting.

bt shadehouse i mean a greenhouse type deal made of shadecloth. this, as you were getting at, acclimatises the plants to both wind/temperature and sun, so by the time you get to planting them in direct sunlight/outdoor-elements, they're hopefully a little more hardy, vegetated and the stems have become a little more wooded

Yes it is exactly that of rock wool, my system is hydroponics, homemade, I'm satisfied, at least those are the vegetables that I grown I eat, it is not dealt with all kinds of products, except Fertilizers for the boost a little, outside there will not need it, when lighting, they now sell all sorts of brilliant Led lights.Bye my Friends, and Good Culture of your vegetables

Hi! I read your post because I want to start a windowfarm (hydroponic technique) so the soil part at the end probably wont do for me. How long did they take to start poping? There are probably much more posts here about seed growing for hydroponics but as this is a fresh idea for me I havent studied enough yet :) Either way well done for your great work and detailed instructable!

About This Instructable

Bio:I am currently a mechanical engineering student at the University of Toledo. I have a lot of different interests but have a particular affinity for technology and anything flammable. I'm happy to be ...read more »